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Friday, July 15, 2016

Raising the Right Stakes: Where Writers Go Awry

High stakes, more interest

In the 2001, literary agent and writing guru Donald Maass penned
the must-have reference tool Writing the Breakout Novel. In Chapter 3, Maass
begins:“If there is one single
principal that is central to making any story more powerful, it’s simply this:
Raise the stakes.” But how does a writer know which stakes to raise? Raise the
wrong ones, and you wander down the garden path not knowing how to return.

To
know which stakes to raise take this example. Let’s say your protagonist’s dog
dies. If you write mysteries, suspense or thrillers, or if you want to layer your
work, the dog dies under mysterious circumstances. You can up the stakes by
making the dog a onetime Westminster Kennel Club winner. Sounds great, right?
Not necessarily. This route likely requires a protagonist of a certain
socioeconomic class and for you to learn a lot about Westminster. Since it’s a
big event with a big name, this plot option takes the reader toward a situation
instead of the character, and character-driven plots resonate more with
readers.So what if the dog is a rescue whose owner is devastated because his
beloved pet was saved from near certain doom only to meet her end under the pet
owner’s roof, or in the yard, or up the street? In the Westminster scenario,
the theme might be personal greed. In the second, any number of options could
work, and the stakes are actually higher because they’re more personal than
professional.So if you’re wondering which stakes to raise journal the options
to see where each would take you. That way you avoid good writerly intentions
that could otherwise go awry.

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Adele Annesi is an award-winning writer, editor, and professor of writing, English and English as another language. She is also a co-author of Now What? The Creative Writer's Guide to Success After the MFA. Co-founder of the Ridgefield Writers Conference and a professional book editor, Adele crafts articles, columns, reviews and stories for journals such as 34th Parallel, The Fairfield Review, Hotmetalpress, Feile-Festa, Marco Polo Arts Magazine, Midway Journal, Miranda Literary Magazine, The Pittsburgh Quarterly, Pyramid, Tertulia, The Washington Independent Review of Books and Southern Literary Review, where she was managing editor. Her work has also been anthologized for Chatter House Press and Fairfield University, where she received an MFA in creative writing. Her essay on Italian citizenship is part of the Clarion Award-winning Essays About Life Transitions by Women Writers, and her flash fiction has been adapted for the stage. A professor of English and writing, Adele is completing a novel set in Italy. Her website is Adele Annesi.